House acts to save 900 acres in Southbury

John Pirro

Published 11:09 pm, Sunday, May 12, 2013

The state House of Representatives has unanimously passed legislation that would ensure about 900 acres of prime farmland at the Southbury Training School would be used for agricultural purposes, no matter what becomes of the school in the future.

The vote late Thursday was hailed as a milestone by state Rep. Arthur O'Neill, R-Southbury, who for years has been seeking to preserve the property, most of which is now used to raise crops to feed residents of the facility.

"For a number of years, I have proposed legislation in keeping with the recommendations of the task force that has studied the future use of the Southbury Training School Farm and other state-owned agricultural land," O'Neill said.

"The key recommendation of the task force was that a private party be given control over the land for the purpose of encouraging and facilitating long-term agricultural use."

At a hearing in March, the measure drew support from Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson, Selectman Chad Landmon and Roxbury First Selectman Barbara Henry.

About 105 acres of the training school property is located in Roxbury and is bordered by 117 acres owned by the Roxbury Land Trust.

The House bill, which has already been backed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, now goes to the Senate for consideration.

O'Neill praised the governor and the state Department of Agriculture for supporting the legislation, and said he hopes the measure will become a model for preservation of other state-owned agricultural properties included in the task force report.

The training school, which was founded in the late 1930s, once housed more than 1,000 residents, but its current population is about 400 people. The facility no longer accepts new clients.

The governor last month announced the formation of another task force to develop a plan for the future use of the training school campus, which houses the facility's buildings.